Family Photo in the Oval

It's been nearly two years since I've posted anything here. How life gets in the way! I've been meaning for months to find this gratitude journal blog and start writing updates, but today's events are simply just too special and I don't want to forget a moment.  Because of Mr. B's job, we got to take a family photo with the President in the Oval Office today. Both girls (yes! Since the last post, Natalie - almost 5 months- has joined the family!!) we're outstanding. Anna was positively charming. She engaged the President in conversation- told him how old she was, told him her name, asked if she could take an apple from his office coffee table (he said yes, and praised her healthy eating choices). And Natalie just smiled away at him. Such a special moment that went by in a complete blur. And while I honestly can't remember much of what was said between us and the President, I hope I never forget how happy I was to be there with my family, and how bursting with pride I was of our girls.

Dr. B

September 4, 2012: Story Time

Got home tonight, and Anna was still awake, but not very active.  I decided to see if she'd sit in my lap and read a bit before taking her upstairs for bedtime.  I picked out 5 or so of her board books, and asked her to pick one out for me.  She pointed to Little Blue Truck, which is one of my favorites.  She was very attentive throughout, and pointed to various pictures saying, "This!" when she wanted to know what something was, or "Duck," when she saw any animal (usually not a duck) on the page.  She stayed engaged and still (no squirming!) and picked a second book - I Like It When  (my favorite!) from the pile I offered to her.  She had a great little smile on throughout the story, which allows me to interact with her - "I like it when you hold my hand....I like it when we play peekaboo..."  I tried to enjoy every moment, because I thought she would start squirming, or crying, so I was absolutely thrilled when she picked out a THIRD book -  The Going to Bed Book.  At this point, I start to get a little misty, because I started to remember how David and I would read this story to Anna while I was pregnant, and how, just minutes after I delivered her, we recited its words to settle her down.  Loved this moment with her.

- Dr. B

August 29, 2012: A nice evening with Anna

 I picked up Anna from daycare early today.  As I strapped her into her carseat, I started giving her "Eskimo kisses" and she thought they were hilarious.  I actually kept doing it until I got a bloody nose...whoops...she was laughing so hard, I didn't want to stop!  Anyway, we got home, and she was still awake, which is a complete rarity these days, so I put her right in her stroller, and out we went for a walk.  I was still in my work clothes, but I didn't want to waste any time getting outside, and enjoying the nice weather and the time we had before she started to get sleepy.  We did a loop around the neighborhood, and we passed by the park and discovered that the swings that had been scheduled to be installed for the past 8 months had finally arrived!  We went in, and Anna had a good long swing- she really enjoyed it.  She toddled around playing with the abandoned toys in the park, and on the slide too.  Super night, and wanted to remember it, so I went online after bedtime and created this blog, so that we could capture our great and everyday memories of Anna, any siblings that arrive in the future, and us.

Dr. B